Ten minutes later.
Tucked away in a quiet corner of the little garden, where nobody ever wanders.
"You—pick up your phone first, it's been ringing nonstop."
Lena, cheeks pink, gently nudged Evan and whispered to him.
Under the moonlight, her lipstick was a bit smudged.
Evan just sighed. Who the hell was so persistent? He'd already tried ignoring the call, but the phone just kept buzzing in his pocket.
"Come on, answer it. It's still ringing," Lena urged, her voice barely above a whisper.
Evan hesitated, looking annoyed.
"I want to know who's so relentless. They hang up and call again, over and over," Lena added, more curious than irritated now.
He gave her a helpless look.
Emily, catching the mood, blushed even deeper.
Evan finally fished his phone out. Jack's name flashed on the screen—a voice call, again.
He answered. "Yeah? This better be important," he said, not bothering to hide his irritation.
"Whoa, Evan, what's with the attitude?" Jack sounded surprised, but shrugged it off. "It's past nine already. Why aren't you back? Dorm lights go off at ten. They check rooms, you know. Where are you?"
Evan could hear Ryan chiming in, laughing in the background. "Hey, Evan, you aren't on a date or something, are you?"
Ryan was joking—nobody really expected Evan to be out with a girl.
Nathan's voice came next, smug as always: "Yeah right, where's he gonna find a date? He's not like me. I can get a girlfriend whenever I want."
Evan kept it short. "I'll be back soon." He didn't even bother with Nathan's smugness.
It's like being rich and someone mocks you for being broke—why bother arguing? If you know your own worth, you don't waste energy proving it.
Evan felt exactly like that. Nathan could think whatever he wanted. Right now, Evan wasn't just seeing one girl—he had two. And both Lena and Emily were real stunners, each with their own vibe.
The best part? They both chased after him.
All of it was real, whether Nathan believed it or not.
Jack's voice broke in again. "Just hurry up, man. If you're not there for room check, the counselor's gonna notice."
Evan just grunted and hung up.
Lena had heard everything, they were that close and the night was that quiet. She glanced at Evan and asked softly, "Your roommate wants you back?"
Evan nodded. "Yeah."
Lena looked away, still blushing. "It's late. You should probably go back."
Honestly, she wanted him to leave now. Not because she didn't like him, but because during their kiss, Evan's hands started to wander. She'd been careful, but if they stayed any longer, she knew he'd push his luck.
That wouldn't do. This was only their first day as a couple. Kissing was as far as she was ready to go.
Evan caught her hesitation. "You really want me to go?"
"It's not that," Lena mumbled, embarrassed. "I want more time with you, but... your hands were all over the place."
Evan grinned. "Can't blame me for that." He doubted Lena really understood just how attractive she was.
Lena shook her head. "Of course it's your fault." Then she stepped back, just in case.
Evan didn't argue. He just took her hand and led her out of the garden.
...
They left the park and got into the car.
Lena slid into the passenger seat, buckled up, quiet. Evan glanced at her, a little regretful, but he knew—kissing was her limit for now. If he wanted more, he'd have to wait.
He wasn't in a rush. Having the system on his side made him confident—he was sure Lena would be his, eventually.
He looked away, fastened his seatbelt, and started the engine.
"I'll take you apartment first, then I'll head back to college." he said as they rolled onto the main road.
"I can grab a taxi, really. You should go back so you don't miss the room check," Lena said, almost out of habit.
Evan shook his head. "No way. Taking my girlfriend home is my job."
Lena couldn't help but smile at that, her eyes lighting up. That made her happy.
"Alright, just take me apartment first."
Lena nodded and pulled out her phone to text her best friend, letting her know she was heading back.
Then she paused, frowning at the screen.
Her phone was complaining—again—that its memory was full.
She'd bought this phone back in her freshman year of college. It's a decent phone, nothing fancy, but the storage is tiny. At first, she didn't notice. But after a few years? She's deleting stuff all the time just to keep it running.
"Ugh, this useless phone," she grumbled, sighing as she started clearing out files like she'd done a hundred times before.
Evan glanced over from the driver's seat. "Something wrong with your phone?"
"It's always out of memory," Lena muttered. "Every time I want to download an app, I have to delete another one first. It's a pain. I wish I'd just bought a phone with more storage, but I thought this was enough. Three years later, I'm cleaning it out every single day."
Her face scrunched up, halfway annoyed, halfway resigned. Honestly, it was kind of charming.
Evan peeked at her. "When did you buy that thing?"
"Second year of college," she said, not looking up as her fingers kept working. "It's actually fine except for the memory."
Evan laughed. "So, what kind of phone are you thinking about next?"
"I kinda want an iPhone. They look so nice, but… man, they're expensive." She stared at her screen, frustration growing. "I'm out of space again. I don't want to delete anything else—everything left is important. What am I supposed to do now…"
She trailed off, her face full of that familiar mix of frustration and indecision.
Evan couldn't help but smile at her expression. She sat there, looking down, clearly torn and a little hesitant. He watched her for a second, then turned the car around. He'd decided—he was going to buy her an iPhone.
Honestly, Lena ticked all his boxes. She was beautiful, had a great figure, and, well, he'd never dated anyone before. He was her first boyfriend. He'd even just gotten her first kiss.
He felt pretty lucky. So, why not buy her a phone?
Besides, the system had already given him a million-dollar dating fund. He wasn't even spending his own money.
"Finally cleared up some space," Lena muttered, letting out a sigh. She'd just spent the past five or six minutes deleting apps and cleaning up her phone.
She opened her chat with her best friend.
"Lara, I'll be home soon."
Lara replied in seconds. "Huh? You're coming back tonight?"
Lena's cheeks went pink, but her fingers flew over the keyboard anyway.
"!!! What are you talking about?!"
"I'm serious, babe," Lara shot back. "I really thought you'd stay out. That guy is a total catch."
"If I were you, I wouldn't be coming home tonight," Lara added, just piling it on.
Lena could feel her face heat up even more.
"I'm ignoring you. I'm coming back, okay?"
She put her phone away, cheeks still burning. Lara really had no filter.
We just started dating today, she thought. No way am I going to move that fast. That's crazy.
But, honestly, Lara wasn't wrong. Evan really was a catch.
Lena glanced at Evan as he drove, then frowned. Wait. This wasn't the way home.
"Hey, this doesn't look like the way back," she blurted out.
Evan nodded. "Yeah, it's not."
"So…where are we going?" She barely finished the question before the car stopped. She looked up and saw the Apple store.
Apple store.
She stared, completely stunned.
"You're buying a phone?" she managed.
She honestly hadn't expected that. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind.
"Why would I buy myself a phone? I just got this one a couple days ago," Evan said. "I'm getting one for you. Didn't you say you wanted an iPhone? Hurry up."
He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out, barely giving her a chance to protest.
"Wait, what? You—you're buying me a phone?" Lena's eyes went wide, and she waved her hands. "No, really, you don't have to. I was just joking. I'll buy it myself if I really want one—"
"Hurry up," Evan cut her off. "I still need to get you home, and I have to get back to school. I'm tight on time, so let's go."
He was already out of the car. Lena hesitated, but there wasn't much point arguing—she got out and followed.
Inside, Evan hesitated for a second at the price, but seeing Lena's expression, he smiled and purchased the iPhone.
The whole thing took maybe three minutes. Evan scanned the code, paid, and walked out with a brand new iPhone 16 Pro Max. White, 1TB. Four grand, just like that.
He slipped his hand into Lena's and led her back to the car.
On the drive back to Silver Brook apartment, Lena just sat there, dazed. The whole thing was so fast. Before she could even say she didn't want it, it was already done. She hadn't even had time to react.
"This is way too expensive," she finally said. "It'd take me four months' salary to buy this kind of phone."
Evan glanced at her. She liked it—anyone would—but it was a lot.
They'd only just started dating, and here she was, holding a four-thousand-dollar phone from her new boyfriend.
"If you really don't want it, I'll just give it to someone else," Evan teased.
Lena's whole body tensed. "No way!" She realized how she sounded and looked away, embarrassed.
"Alright, then. It's yours. I bought it for you," Evan said, glancing at her as she started to protest again. "But really, if you don't want it, I'll find another girl who does."
Lena glared at him, pouting as she clutched the bag closer. "It's mine. You're not giving it to anyone else."
Her voice was soft, almost cute.
Evan grinned and kept driving. But he couldn't help thinking about Emily—his other girlfriend. Her phone wasn't new, either. Maybe he should get her one, too.
"What's on your mind?" Lena glanced over at Evan, her eyes flickering with a little doubt.
Something just felt off. Call it intuition, but she couldn't shake the feeling that Evan had someone else on his mind.
No, that's ridiculous. I'm just overthinking.
She shook her head and pushed the thought away.
"I wasn't thinking about anything," Evan said.
He shifted gears fast. "The phone's still sealed, right? Just open it up when you get home and follow the steps. It's easy."
"I know," Lena said, nodding. "My best friend has an iPhone. She bought it back in college, and I helped her set it up. It was a breeze."
Evan nodded. "Mm."
"Oh, and since we're officially together now, when are you free? I want to invite my best friend out for a meal with us. Her name's Lara. We were bunkmates in college, best friends in our dorm. Even after graduation, we rented an apartment together."
She looked at him, a little hopeful.
Honestly, she just wanted Evan to meet someone so important to her. Lara was practically family at this point.
Isn't that what everyone says online, anyway? Once you have a boyfriend, get him to meet your friends—bring him into your world.
Lena figured there was something to that.
"Yeah, sure. But I've got plans tomorrow. And Monday through Friday I have classes all day. How about next Saturday?"
Evan paused, thinking it through before he answered.
"Okay."
Lena grinned, then tilted her head. "So, what's going on tomorrow? It's Sunday—got something fun planned?"
"It's nothing, really. I just some work" she said.
Evan glanced at her, acting casual. Truth was, he'd already promised Emily they'd go out for movie tomorrow night.
"Oh, alright then" Lena replied, nodding.
About ten minutes later, Evan pulled into silver brook Residential Area. He followed Lena's directions and stopped outside an apartment building.
"This one?" he asked, pointing out the window.
"Yeah, that's it," Lena said, nodding as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
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